Fawn
my throat, hot and sour. The logical part of my brain screamed at me to turn away, to retreat into the darkness of my
of them. They were huge, bigger than any pack wolf I had ever seen, with matted, scarred fur and ribs showing starkly beneath their hides. They were half-starved, their eyes glowing with a
She was shoved forward again, not by a guard this time, but by the sheer terror of the w
. Then one of them, a massive brute with a notche
ghtmares for the rest of my life. The other wolves fell upon her in a wave of savage fury, a whirlwind of claws and jaws. I saw a flash of the white
uth, my whole body shaking. The brutal reality of what I had just seen crashed over me. This wasn't a punishm
hroat. The stench filled the small room. I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered, my back pressed against the c
ght, a loud, metallic scra
y door. It wa
. I was weak, sick, and cornered. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I scrambled away from the door, crab-walking bac
e feel of rough hands grabbing me. Instead, the air filled w
r hands, she held a rough wooden tray with a hunk of dark bread and a clay cup of water. She kept her eye
urned to leave without a single word, without ever meeting my gaze. The fear radiatin
tray, snatching the bread and cramming a piece into my mouth. It was coarse and dry, but it was the most glorious thing I had ever tasted. I tore o
lock me back in my living tomb. The knowledge that I would be alone again, with nothing
ut of me, a ragged whisper.
t the door. But then, she turned her head just slightly. Her weary, faded eyes met mine for the first time, and in
n't looked at you," she said, her words dropping like stones
osed, and the bolt slid home,
r was gone. The woman was gone. All that was left was the echo of her words. *Gauntlet*. T
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